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Animal Collectives Geologist Discusses the Grateful Dead

As previously reported, this past Friday Animal Collectives management announced that it had cleared the rights to use a sample of Phil Leshs ‘Unbroken Chain’ in its song What Would I Want Sky. Animal Collective has been playing the song regularly on its summer tour, including in front of several thousand fans at Bonnaroo last month, and many suspect the track will show up on the new Animal Collective EP later this year. The move comes as no surprise to longtime Animal Collective fans who have heard the band cover the Grateful Deads arrangement of We Bid You Goodnight and reference the group as an influence on its psychedelic brand of indie rock music. According to Animal Collective folklore, band members David Portner (Avey Tare) and Brian Weitz (Geologist) first met when a friend noticed they were both wearing Grateful Dead t-shirts in 9th grade.
Relix and Jambands.com recently discussed Animal Collectives origin, and the bands connection with the Grateful Dead as part of an extended feature on the mixture of indie and jam cultures. Please click here to read our complete interview with Geologist.